Biggio Baseball Band Back Together

SAN ANTONIO – For an extended weekend the Biggio baseball band was back together, on friendly Texas turf, in an aging minor league ball yard dating to the 1940s serving as a less than fitting setting for Generation Next.

Conor and Cavan again sharing the same Catholic school uniform, once St. Thomas HIgh School, now Notre Dame.

Craig and Patty always sharing the deeply appreciative satisfaction for how their sons are developing as people first, then as players.

A brother-brother throwback to well before the two led the Eagles to consecutive state championships with Craig as head coach in 2010-11, a bond that extends far beyond the diamond dust.

“Conor has always taken care of Cavan,” Patty said after arriving for the first of four games at San Antonio’s Nelson Wolff Stadium. “That’s why Cavan is so quiet. Conor did all the talking when they were growing up.”

Slight pause for comedic effect.

“But seriously – they’ve always been best friends. Cavan followed Conor around everywhere.”

And now all the way to South Bend where the tag-team fit is every bit as tight as their lifelong kinship.

Conor the junior outfielder for the Irish and new kid Cavan immediately taking over the starting second baseman spot.

“It’s awesome,” Conor said. “Cannot lie. He asked me for advice during all the recruiting and I just said, ‘Whatever makes you happy. If you want to come play with me, then great. But if it’s not something you really want to do, then don’t do it.’ But he’s here and it’s really ended up working out. Best part is I have someone to travel home with now.”

And a second travel pairing with Craig and Patty racking frequent flyer and rental car miles. First to Florida this month to see the Irish open the season in Boca Raton and then the quick turn to San Antonio where Notre Dame hosted their annual Irish Baseball Classic. The pace doesn’t figure to slow as the season extends into the spring.

“For the last few years I’ve obviously been coaching at St. Thomas,” Craig said. “Couldn’t just sit back and take in what the guys were doing. I had a job, a responsibility to the team to be prepared. So I really didn’t have much of a chance to go to that many games and just watch. Appreciate what they’re doing. Now I can come see them both at the same time and also do some scouting for the Astros. It’s a good world.”

Mik Aoki is now the official bench boss the Biggio boys answer to. He echoes the adage that you never really know a player until you coach him. And that means not fully knowing the contrast in Conor and Cavan until you dial into the day-to-day interaction.

“You see the differences just in their personalities,” Aoki said. “They’re wired much differently. Conor more gregarious. Cavan a bit more quiet. But both are really good workers, great kids, valuable guys to have regardless of their skill levels.”

Cavan is already flashing the skills that made him one of last year’s most prized high school recruits – the No. 1 second baseman and No. 21 overall prospect nationally from the class of 2013.

He hit 5-13 in the Irish Baseball Classic, knocked in three runs, scored three, drew a couple of walks without a single strikeout. He has yet to commit an error at second base but it’s the approach at the plate which remains the most mature quality of his game.

Cavan Biggio making immediate impact at Notre Dame.

“He rarely chases out of the strike zone,” Aoki said. “Has that discipline. But he also has that mix where he’ll still turn it loose. He’s not trying to just make contact. He’s looking to do some damage. For a young hitter that combination is really difficult to master. And Cavan just comes in with that.”

Craig candidly sees that very same quality, one that didn’t resemble his own game until after his own college career at Seton Hall was complete and he was drafted by the Astros with their first round selection in 1987.

“After one at bat is over, regardless of the outcome, Cavan goes right into the next one,” Craig said. “And you don’t find that in a lot of kids. He has a different mindset, actually has a big league attitude in terms of going about his business.”

Conor Biggio making the most of his Irish opportunities.

Conor doesn’t carry quite the same measurables, his impact calibrated on a different scale more friendly to the new-age analytics.

“I’ve come to learn of what kind of player I am,” Conor said. “Just try to get on base, be active on the paths and be in a position for my teammates to drive me in.”

“Everybody wants to start. Not everybody can,” Craig said. “He’s working hard. Good teams have guys who understand what they have to contribute. If this is what it is, he gets it and he’ll make the team better.”

Craig and Patty making the Notre Dame baseball rounds to see sons Conor and Cavan.

Baseball couldn’t be better for the Biggios. Fun and games, the band back together, from ball parks near and far, South Bend to up and down the Atlantic coast to deep in the heart of Texas.

The schools and stages may change over the years but never the family ties that bind.

“My boys were really close growing up,” Patty said. “To see them both get this chance at Notre Dame is really a dream come true for all of us.”